Nyckelharpa
Fiddleharpa
Moraharpa
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The Nyckelharpa (or "Keyed Fiddle") is the national
folk instrument of Sweden.
I made my first Nyckelharpa in 1999 thanks to a grant from the Prairie Lakes
Regional Arts Council.
The design is based on the blueprints from the book I
bought from Soren Ahker. I eagerly awaited the arrival of the original 1998 copy
and was somewhat surprised (?) that the text was printed in Swedish! A bit of a
barrier that for some reason I either didn't think about at the time or simply
knew that the numbers, measurements and dimensions would be the same...
which thankfully they were.
(A few years later, this fine instruction manual was printed in English but I
have Yet to see a copy of it!)
Anyway...This is how it turned out. I was quite pleasantly surprised that it
turned out as well as it did. For at the time, I had never seen one in person
and certainly had Never played one before.
These are old photos. I'll post some better pics soon.
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My next project was to build a
Moraharpa.
This is the
old medieval form (or ancient ancestor) of the modern day Nyckelharpa. There is
a stone carving on a church in Gotland, Sweden.
Below
is an excerpt taken from the American Nyckelharpa Association web-site:
The oldest "evidence" of nyckelharpa use is a relief (left picture) on
one of the gates to
Källunge
church on Gotland from about 1350 depicting two nyckelharpa players.
I built this one from photographs off the internet. Its a very simple design and
also has a very limited playing range.
(It must have been more of an accompaniment to some sad, droning vocal
lament...so common in Medieval Scandinavia)
It turned out real nice, too but it was like driving in only one gear. A friend
of mine, who is part of a local Medieval reenactment group, bought this one.
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My next attempt was to build a "Fiddleharpa".
The standard size Nyckelharpa is tuned like a Viola and I wanted
something that could be tuned and played like a Violin.
I experimented a little with the design, as this one has a carved arched
top and back. I have found that this didn't necessarily add to the sound of the
instrument, as the first one I made (with a flat top and back) actually sounded
better! I also added in a 4th row of keys for the 'G' string. (This was
apparently nearly un-heard of at the time, as I recall very few builders had
tried this) Times have changed though and it is now quite common to see several
different varieties and experimentation going on with the making of these
instruments.
This Fiddleharpa is no longer for
sale.
An issue had developed recently with the Fiddleharpa. The D and G strings were
not behaving very well. I couldn't seem to get a good, clear note when the little
tangents hit each string, and instead, an awful buzzing sound was produced! I
thought it must be from the fact that the scale length is so short.
However...I finally realized that the posts of the tangents were too tall and
flimsy, so I went in and reinforced each one and now it all seems to be working
fairly well. (I have some more testing to do on it yet. Still a slight
buzz, but if you just apply a tiny bit more pressure you get a good clear note)
So... For now... I've decided to keep this one for myself. I've
had it for years now and it has spent way too much of that time enclosed in its
case on a shelf! I only fairly recently dug these Harpas out of storage and
tuned them up and have become totally "hooked" on playing them again.
I'm still planning on building More of these wonderful instruments some time.
Just don't know when. It sounds like there are still way too few builders here in
this country and I'm hoping I can "help out with that" a little!
If you are still interested...let me know.
Made of highly figured Maple for the back, neck and keys. Walnut
for the sides, tailpiece, peg box and top lid.
The soundboard is made of Western Cedar and is adorned with an
intricate grapevine design in soft lead pencil.
I'm afraid this is as good as it gets for photo quality. Having a little trouble
with pixilation when down sizing the pics.
The keys are rounded to make it easier to slide up and down the scale. The lid
is a non-traditional addition that can easily be removed if it gets in the way
of seeing the moving keys.
Each key is attached to the left side peg box by little brass rods that are
easily visible when you press in a key. This makes it easier to see where you
are with the lid down.
The 'E' string tangents are made of pieces of oblong aluminum rods (actually
model airplane parts) It was an experiment that worked. The rest are pieces of
Cherry wood.
4 Ebony tuners for the main strings and a set of Gotoh Mandolin tuners for the
under strings. (I added in a piece of tree branch as a thumb rest) Scale length,
from nut to bridge, is 14 inches. (About the same scale length as a Mandolin)
The case is made of Pine and Plywood and is padded with foam and lined with
felt. 
There is a small storage compartment with a lid. A half-size Violin bow an a
leather strap is included.
I still have to replace 2 strings that are old and not sounding properly. (Plus
a couple more little up-grades to do yet and it will be ready to go!) Any
questions? Feel free to E-mail me.
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Norwegian 8-String Hardanger Fiddle:
OK...First
of all...This does Not actually qualify as an authentic Hardanger Fiddle.
It wasn't built in Norway (or by a Norwegian) It was built by Me here in
Mankato. It doesn't have the traditional carved peg-head design.
Instead...it has the head of an Eastern Hognose Snake carved into the peg box.
It does have 4 strings running under the hollow fingerboard and right through
the middle of the bridge. The inlay is carved river clamshell (from Clams
that all died peacefully in their sleep in the Blue Earth River.)
The back,
neck and peg-box is made of curly maple.
The sides (and the snake head) are made of rare curly walnut. The finger board,
pegs and tailpiece are all black ebony. This kind of Fiddle is
played pretty much the same as a regular Violin. The top 4 strings are bowed
while the under strings simply vibrate and create a cool harmonic echo effect.
Part of
the back of the peg box is open for easier access when you need to replace any
of the under strings.
Here's a
close-up detail of some of the pencil and ink drawing on the soundboard. It has
been traditional for Hardangar Fiddles to have extensive artwork on the
soundboard and fingerboard. (Sometimes on the back and sides, too)
The
fingerboard and tailpiece on this one has brass dots and pearly white clamshell
pieces that have some rainbow iridescence to it. The fingerboards on all
Hardangers are nearly flat...not arched like a regular fiddle. This is because
often times more than 2 strings are bowed at a time. This goes for the bridge,
too. The arch is nearly flat. It would be difficult to play a Paganini Concerto
on one of these...but they're great for lots of droning on and on and getting
yourself into a "musically induced trance-like state". (More on that later)
The tailpiece has a special added feature that I haven't yet seen on any other
harmonic type fiddle: Each under-string has it's own fine tuner! In the photo
below...you can (barely) see that each one is attached to a "top mounted hook
type" fine tuner that runs through a groove and into a hole right thru the
tailpiece, between the regular fine tuners and then out through the bridge and
up underneath the fingerboard. It makes it a Lot easier to keep all those pesky
things in tune.
And, Oh yeah, by the way, I must say how truly disappointed I am at discovering how
Blurry and Dark all these new photos are turning out. I spent a lot of time
running each one thru PhotoShop and they still turned out kinda murky. Oh well.
Just please keep in mind...everything you see here looks a Lot better in person.
OK. Now concerning the mythological properties of this particular instrument
and that "trance like" state I mentioned earlier: Early on in history,
I have read that the
Church of Norway actually banned the use of Hardanger Fiddles. Stories and
legends abound of fiddlers that literally played themselves into a trance,
passed out, and upon re-awaking reported that they had been to the underworld!
Some even said that they learned a new tune while they were "out". Of course,
this kind of thing was frowned upon by Any kind of "organized religion" and was
commonly believed to be the "work of the devil" (and just the fact that any good
fiddling will make even the most stoic Scandinavian get up and dance) well That
alone was reason enough to put the clamps on any kind of fun back then, anyway.
Now, I'm not really sure about all this "trips to the underworld" business.
(Personally, I haven't tried it. I always get a stiff neck after only 10 minutes
of playing so I might be disqualified from entering the other side) However...A
very strange thing happened while I was carving out the very last piece of inlay
on the fingerboard: I wasn't quite sure how to make the last design fit with the
rest of the pieces I'd made...so I just took some leftover pieces and positioned
them on the ebony.
Suddenly I
realized that the design looked kind of familiar somehow. Took me awhile to make
the connection. It seems that somehow I managed to (quite inadvertently) create
the image of the "horned shaman" design that is out at the Jeffers Petroglyphs
in Cottonwood county!!! I've spent a lot of time out there and have seen this
particular carving often.
It has
always been one of my favorite ones out there and I swear I made no conscious
effort to duplicate the design. Just one of those cool cosmic things that
happens! I originally built this fiddle 10 years ago and sold it to a friend.
Some how in the past 2 years it ended up down at the local pawn shop and there
it sat for a year and a half. I finally decided to buy it back and have
extensively renovated it to it's present form. It has a nice strong sweet sound.
Not too loud...not too soft. It is now available at
$1500. Case and bow
included.
SOLD!!!
Thanks to Neil from the U.K.
(My
first international internet sale :)
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(Now...Will
someone PLEASE buy This thing? !!!)
Dragon Cello
This is a variety of a Viola De Gamba ...a Baroque era instrument that has sympathetic strings running under the finger board. Like a Hardanger Fiddle…the under strings vibrate when the top strings are bowed and you get a harmonic effect.
The body is made from a 1/4 size Cello made in China. It has numerous tiny cracks in the finish...tiny cosmetic flaws that actually looks kinda cool under certain light. (Poor thing must have had a rough life before it found it's way to me.) It had no head or neck when I got it so I made a new neck out of Maple wood and carved a Dragon Head peg box to hold 9 strings. (The shape of the neck is not round...but is carved into more of a "V" shape similar to an old Gibson Guitar) The top 4 strings are bowed like a regular cello and the 5 running under the finger board can be tuned in various ways to get a mysterious harmonic effect. The under-strings run right through the middle of the bridge. Price on this one was $1700. However...It's been for sale for long enough (with NO interest whatever) That I can officially say: Make an Offer!
This instrument is currently available and needs to find a home with that certain special someone who wants something no one else has.
Used Violins for Sale: None currently available. Keep checking back.